Protect Your Family’s Investment

Many people choose to invest in property in Australia for their retirement, as a source of income, or to assist their children with somewhere to live. This is true of both local buyers and overseas purchasers. When you do this however, you should turn your mind to how Australian family law will consider this type property in the event that there is a separation involving yourself or your children in the future.

If a parent buys a property for their child, their child marries and then divorces, it is not as simple for the parents as getting their money back out of the property ‘dollar for dollar’. Australian family law will usually consider this assistance from a parent a type of financial contribution, not a loan, and is not inclined to repay the money as if it were a normal debt. Often people will walk away from a relationship having lost not only a lot of money themselves, but also a lot of their family’s money, resulting in increased family tension.

At Nevett Ford Lawyers, our large and experienced team advise and assist with a range of solutions to help to protect you and your family in these situations. When you purchase a property, we recommend considering a Binding Financial Agreement under the Family Law Act to protect yourself and your children, as well as ensuring loan documents are drafted to assist in recovering money if necessary. We are also able to draft Inheritance Agreements to help to protect inheritances from family law disputes in the future. We can even draft Agreements that will operate for couples who are not yet married but may do so in the future and want to make just one document to cover these different situations.

It is important to look at these types of documents and have them prepared when everything is going well, to protect you in the event of future uncertainty. Determining the right kind of document for your circumstances is a skill at which our lawyers excel, and we recommend you contact us to enable you to make this important decision in an informed manner. Our number is 03 9614 7111, or email us out of hours on melbourne@nevettford.com.au